ABU DHABI: Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin is all set to take up the role of team mentor for the Northern Warriors in the upcoming season of Abu Dhabi T10 starting January 28 at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Azharuddin said he will be observing all the practice sessions and matches carried out by Warriors very keenly.
"I will be watching everything very keenly as the mentor of the Northern Warriors. Actually, the coach runs the team, so I will be giving advice to the players and coaches as the mentor of the team. If I find something is not up to the mark or my advice is needed for something, that's when I will step in as a mentor," he said.
Even though the Warriors have many star players such as Lendl Simmons and Nicholas Pooran in their side, Azharuddin made it very clear that he is not looking forward to working with only a few players.
"For me, there's not one player that I am looking forward to working with, but I am looking forward to working with all the players in the Northern Warriors team. My role as a mentor is to look after the entire team," said the former India captain.
When asked about his thoughts on the fast-paced T10 format, Azharuddin said that one would get a better idea about the format if it's played in more countries.
"T10 is a good format, but it's held only in the UAE at the moment. If there are more T10 tournaments all over the world, then only we will know how good the format would be. As of now, the T10 has picked up as this is the fourth year (second edition of Abu Dhabi T10 and fourth year of the tournament overall) that the tournament is being held in the UAE."
The former India captain, who played 99 Tests and 334 ODIs, said that he enjoyed Test cricket and ODIs during his career, but he is not sure if he would have enjoyed the T10 format.
"I am not sure if I would have enjoyed playing T10, unless I play a game here and there, which is not possible at the moment. I really enjoyed Test cricket and One-day cricket. So, I don't know if I would have enjoyed T10 or not, because unless you play, you won't understand," said Azharuddin.
The co-owner of the Northern Warriors team — Mohomed Morani — said that Azharuddin's experience at the highest level will be hugely beneficial for the players.
"We are looking forward to another cracker of a season and we are absolutely delighted to have Mohammad Azharuddin as the mentor of the Northern Warriors team. His sound knowledge of the game and experience at the highest level will be hugely beneficial for our players," Morani. IANS